Terms of Use

What Is Whale Watch

Whale Watch (whalewatch.social) is a game operated by Pueblo de Vacas Studios LLC, a New Mexico limited liability company. It is a game, nothing more. There is no financial product, no investment, no cryptocurrency, and no real-world value attached to anything on this site.

By accessing or using Whale Watch you agree to these Terms of Use. If you do not agree, do not use the service.

How Does It Work

Players (Whales) purchase Krill and choose to either save it or consume it, and compete to be the Top Hungry Hoarder or the Top Krill Killer.

Krill

Krill is an in-game product purchased with real money from the Whale Watch in-game store. Krill is sold in packages of varying quantities and prices — think of it like buying shrimp from the grocery store. Each package comes with an expiration date, and just like real shrimp, Krill that is not consumed before it expires will spoil and be removed from your Pantry.

Beyond its purchase price, Krill has no real-world value. It cannot be redeemed, traded, gifted, sold, or transferred — between accounts or outside the game — and it carries no monetary value beyond what you paid for it. It is not a currency, a token, a financial instrument, a cryptocurrency, or an asset of any kind. Acquiring Krill gives you a quantity of an in-game product to use within the game. Nothing else.

All Krill purchases are final. Krill cannot be refunded or returned once purchased, under any circumstances.

There are no prizes, no jackpots, no random reward draws, no loot boxes, and no wagering. Whale Watch is not a gambling product.

Shrimp Savers

The Shrimp Savers leaderboard ranks players by how much Krill they are currently holding. Krill sits in your Pantry in packages, each with its own expiration date. Saving indefinitely is not possible. This is a core game mechanic, not a defect or a service failure. We reserve the right to adjust expiration windows at any time.

Krill Killers

The Krill Killers leaderboard ranks players by Krill consumed over the last 30 days. Once you have made a purchase, your Krill will appear in your Pantry. You may choose Krill from your Pantry to consume at any time — this is called a Krill Kill and requires confirmation before it executes. Scores are weighted toward recent activity, so past dominance fades if you go quiet. We reserve the right to adjust scoring mechanics at any time.

The Current

The Current is a live feed of game activity. Krill purchases, kills, and leaderboard events are recorded and broadcast publicly in real time. All posts to The Current are automatic and system-generated. Players cannot post to The Current, remove posts, or prevent their activity from appearing there. Leaderboards, public profiles, and The Current are all visible to everyone, including visitors who are not logged in.

Eligibility

You must be at least 18 years old to register and use Whale Watch. By registering, you confirm that you meet this requirement. We reserve the right to terminate accounts where this requirement is not met.

Accounts

One account per person. One account per email address.
You are responsible for all activity under your account.
Usernames are permanent and cannot be changed after registration.
You may not register a username that impersonates another person or entity.
We do not store passwords. Login uses one-time codes sent to your registered email address.

Acceptable Use

You agree not to:

Exploit, reverse-engineer, or interfere with game mechanics, the Krill ledger, or any part of the service.
Register multiple accounts or use automated tools to gain leaderboard advantage.
Impersonate another user, person, or entity.
Scrape or mirror user data without permission.
Attempt to assign real-world monetary value to Krill or facilitate any transaction purporting to exchange Krill for money or goods.
File a payment dispute or chargeback with your bank, card issuer, or payment processor. All sales are final; filing a chargeback is a violation of these terms and will be treated as fraud.
Use the service in any way that violates applicable law.

Payments

Transactions are processed by our payment processor(s). By making a purchase, you agree to the terms of service and privacy policies of the applicable payment processor. We will never charge your payment method without your explicit action. Krill is awarded only after successful payment verification.

All Krill purchases are final. Krill cannot be refunded or returned once purchased, under any circumstances.

Chargebacks and Disputes

By purchasing Krill you acknowledge that all sales are final and agree not to file a chargeback, payment dispute, or reversal with your bank, card issuer, or payment processor. We consider filing a chargeback to be fraudulent misuse of the payment network in violation of these terms.

If a chargeback or payment dispute is filed against your account, the disputed payment is returned through the payment network as required, and your account is flagged for manual review by an administrator. Bans are never automatic. After review, an administrator may at their discretion:

Permanently lock and ban your account.
Immediately forfeit and remove all Krill currently held in your Pantry, recorded as a forfeiture entry in the game ledger.
Permanently block your email address from registering a new account.
Block your payment method from future purchases, and report its card to our payment processor as fraudulent so it is blocked there as well.
Exclude your account from all leaderboard rankings.
Replace your public profile with a notice that the account was banned.

These consequences may apply even if the chargeback is ultimately resolved in our favor. Additionally, we reserve the right to make otherwise-private account information public — including the account holder's name — for the purposes of publicising fraudulent activity and deterring future abuse. By using Whale Watch you acknowledge and consent to this possibility in the event of fraud or chargeback abuse.

Public Visibility

Your username, rank, Claims to Fame awards, and Krill activity will appear on public leaderboards, your public profile, and The Current feed — visible to all visitors including those not logged in. Your real name, email address, and date of birth are never made public. See our Cookies & Privacy policy for full details on what is and is not visible.

Intellectual Property

All content on Whale Watch — including the name, logo, game mechanics, feed copy, rank names, Claims to Fame designs, and visual design — is owned by or licensed to Pueblo de Vacas Studios LLC. Nothing in these terms grants you any right to reproduce or redistribute that content.

Termination

We may suspend or terminate your account at any time for violation of these terms or for any other reason at our discretion. You may close your account at any time by contacting us. Krill has no cash value and is not refundable on account closure.

Accounts terminated for chargeback or fraud violations are permanently banned. The associated email address and payment methods will be blocked from future use on the platform. Banned accounts remain visible at their public profile URL with a notice of the ban.

Disclaimer of Warranties

Whale Watch is provided “as is” without warranty of any kind. We do not guarantee that the service will be uninterrupted or error-free, or that any particular leaderboard position will be maintained. Game mechanics may change at any time.

Limitation of Liability

To the fullest extent permitted by law, Pueblo de Vacas Studios LLC is not liable for any indirect, incidental, special, or consequential damages arising from your use of Whale Watch, including loss of Krill due to Rot mechanics, service interruptions, or account termination.

Governing Law

These terms are governed by the laws of the State of New Mexico, without regard to its conflict of law provisions. Any disputes arising from your use of Whale Watch shall be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of New Mexico.

Changes to These Terms

We may update these terms at any time. Material changes will be posted on this page with an updated effective date. Continued use of Whale Watch after a change constitutes acceptance of the revised terms.

Contact

Pueblo de Vacas Studios LLC
contact@pueblodevacas.com